[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 184 (Friday, September 23, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-23608]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: September 23, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 947
[FV94-947-1FR]
Irish Potatoes Grown in Oregon and California; Establishment of
Interest and Late Payment Charges on Overdue Assessment Payments
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This final rule allows the Oregon-California Potato Committee
(committee) to impose interest and late payment charges on overdue
assessments under the marketing order. Some handlers are frequently
late paying their assessments, which tends to cause cash flow problems
for the committee and is inequitable to handlers who pay assessments
when due. Imposing interest and late payment charges on handlers will
encourage such handlers to pay their assessment obligations in a timely
manner and help the committee maintain sufficient funds to carry on
normal operations.
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 23, 1994.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Matthews, Marketing Specialist,
Marketing Order Administration Branch, F&V, AMS, USDA, Room 2523-S,
P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC, 20090-6456, telephone: (202) 690-0464;
or Teresa Hutchinson, Northwest Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order
Administration Branch, F&V, AMS, USDA, 1220 Southwest Third Avenue,
room 369, Portland, Oregon 97204; telephone: (503) 326-2724.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement No. 114 and Marketing Order No. 947 [7 CFR part 947], as
amended, regulating the handling of potatoes grown in Modoc and
Siskiyou Counties in California, and all counties in Oregon, except
Malheur County, hereinafter referred to as the ``order.'' The order is
effective under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement of 1937, as
amended [7 U.S.C. 601-674], hereinafter referred to as the ``Act.''
The Department of Agriculture (Department) is issuing this rule in
conformance with Executive Order 12866.
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, Civil
Justice Reform. This action is not intended to have retroactive effect.
This final rule will not preempt any State or local laws, regulations,
or policies, unless they present an irreconcilable conflict with this
action.
The Act provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted
before parties may file suit in court. Under section 608c(15)(A) of the
Act, any handler subject to an order may file with the Secretary a
petition stating that the order, any provision of the order, or any
obligation imposed in connection with the order is not in accordance
with law and request a modification of the order or to be exempted
therefrom. A handler is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the
petition. After the hearing the Secretary would rule on the petition.
The Act provides that the district court of the United States in any
district in which the handler is an inhabitant, or has his or her
principal place of business, has jurisdiction in equity to review the
Secretary's ruling on the petition, provided a bill in equity is filed
not later than 20 days after the date of the entry of the ruling.
Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (RFA), the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service
(AMS) has considered the economic impact of this action on small
entities.
The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of
business subject to such actions in order that small businesses will
not be unduly or disproportionately burdened. Marketing orders issued
pursuant to the Act, and rules issued thereunder, are unique in that
they are brought about through group action of essentially small
entities acting on their own behalf. Thus, both statutes have small
entity orientation and compatibility.
There are approximately 40 handlers of Oregon-California potatoes
who are subject to regulation under the order and approximately 450
producers in the regulated area. Small agricultural service firms,
which includes handlers, have been defined by the Small Business
Administration [13 CFR 121.601] as those having annual receipts of less
than $5,000,000, and small agricultural producers are defined as those
having annual receipts of less than $500,000. The majority of handlers
and producers of Oregon-California potatoes may be classified as small
entities.
On May 25, 1994, a mail ballot was completed in accordance with
Sec. 947.26 during which the committee recommended, under the authority
of Sec. 947.41(a) of the order, that handlers who are delinquent in
paying their assessments be subject to late payment and interest
charges. Nine affirmative ballots were received, meeting the minimum
number for a quorum for the fourteen-member committee.
The committee depends upon handler assessments for operating funds.
Handlers are invoiced by the committee on a monthly basis. However,
some handlers are continually late with their assessment payments and a
few wait until the end of the season to remit to the committee what is
owed. When assessments are not paid in a timely manner, the handlers
paying assessments on time are placed in an unfair situation compared
to the delinquent handlers.
As part of its collection efforts, the committee has requested
delinquent handlers to promptly submit assessment payments. However,
such requests have not substantially decreased the frequency of
delinquent payments. To facilitate the collection of assessments needed
for the maintenance and functioning of the committee, the committee
recommended that a late payment charge of five (5) percent of the
unpaid assessment balance be applied to any handler account more than
thirty days overdue, and an interest charge of one (1) percent per
month be applied to any assessment balance, plus the late payment
charge, remaining unpaid after sixty days. The interest charge added to
the bill after 60 days will be compounded monthly until the delinquent
handler's assessment plus late payment charge and unpaid interest
charges have been paid in full. The committee believes these charges
are high enough to encourage timely payment of assessments, and are
within the interest range customarily charged by banks on commercial
accounts.
This rule is intended to encourage handlers to pay their
assessments when due, thereby eliminating potential inequities. The
committee believes that the recommended action is the only alternative
available to ensure timely payments. The rule is expected to reduce the
need for Department involvement with compliance efforts and thereby
reduce the costs for the government to administer the marketing order
program.
Based on available information, the Administrator of the AMS has
determined that this action will not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1988 [44 U.S.C.
chapter 35], the information collection requirements that are contained
in this proposal have been previously approved by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) under the provisions of 44 U.S.C. Chapter
35 and have been assigned OMB number 0581-0112.
A proposed rule on this matter was published in the August 3, 1994,
Federal Register [59 FR 39479]. Interested persons were invited to file
written comments with respect to the proposal until August 18, 1994. No
comments were received.
After consideration of all relative material presented, including
the recommendation submitted by the committee and other information, it
is hereby found that this regulation, as hereinafter set forth, will
tend to effectuate the declared policy of the Act.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C 553, it is further found that good cause exists
for not postponing the effective date of this action until 30 days
after publication in the Federal Register because: (1) Assessments are
based on the quantity of potatoes handled by each handler during the
shipping season; (2) the shipping season for potatoes has already begun
and the committee would like to impose charges if warranted; (3) the
imposition of such charges was discussed at a public meeting, and all
interested persons had an opportunity to voice concerns; and (4) there
are no regulatory burdens imposed by this rule which require special
preparations of handlers, and (5) the proposed rule provided a 15-day
comment period and no comments were received.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 947
Marketing agreements, Potatoes, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 947 is hereby
amended as follows:
PART 947--IRISH POTATOES GROWN IN MODOC AND SIKIYOU COUNTIES,
CALIFORNIA, AND ALL COUNTIES IN OREGON, EXCEPT MALHEUR COUNTY
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 947 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
2. A new Sec. 947.141 is added to read as follows:
Sec. 947.141 Late payment and interest charges.
The committee shall impose a late payment charge on any handler who
fails to pay his or her assessment within thirty (30) days of the
billing date shown on the handler's assessment statement received from
the committee. The late payment charge shall, after 30 days, be five
percent of the unpaid assessment balance. In the event the handler
fails to pay the delinquent assessment amount, plus the late payment
charge, within 60 days following the billing date, an additional one
percent interest charge shall be applied monthly thereafter to the
unpaid balance, including any accumulated interest. Any amount paid by
a handler as an assessment, including any charges imposed pursuant to
this paragraph, shall be credited when the payment is received in the
committee office.
Dated: September 19, 1994.
Eric M. Forman,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 94-23608 Filed 9-22-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
